Caster.



No. 689,236. A Paiented nec.' I7, 190|.

A. H'. sHocK.

CASTEB.

(Application led Jan. 19, 1901.)

(In Model.)

m: Nonms mins co. wnraumo., wnsmno'rou, D. c:A

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ABRAHAM H. SHOCK, OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOABRAHAM L. LEAMAN, OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

CASTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 689,236, dated December17, 1901. Application filed January 19, 1901. Serial No. 43.858. (Nomodel.)

To ctZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known thatjI, ABRAHAM H. SHOCK, a citizen of theUnitedStates,residing at Lancaster, in the county of Lancaster and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSwivel-Casters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in a swivel-caster of that classin which the spindle or shaft, with the bifurcated jaw or twoeared yokecarrying the -roller or pulleyat one end thereof,is arranged'within atubular socket adapted to be secured in the usual way to an article offurniture in connection with which the caster is used, in which thespindle is conically pointed at one end thereof and seated in a conicalrecess formed Within and at the center of the closed end of the socket,in which the open end of the socket is preferably provided with awidened cylindrical portion, and in which is arranged a ring of ballssurrounding the spindle and seated in a ball-race adjacent to the lowerend of a ferrule.

which is seated with a close frictional contact in the open end of saidsocket.

The object of the invention is the construction or production of aswivel-caster that will readily turn in any desired direction,in whichfriction and cost of production are reduced to a minimum, and in whichprovision is made to hold the' roller spindle or shaft in place when thearticle having the caster is lifted or raised.

The invention consists in the arrangement and combination of certainelements, which will severally and at large appear in the followingdescription,and theywill be separately and combinedly set forth orpointed out in the appended claims.

The purposes of the invention are attained by the mechanism, devices,and means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, similar referencecharacters designating like parts throughout the several views, inwhich- Figure 'l is a top plan of a swivel-caster embodying the elementsof the invention; Fig. 2, a full side elevation of the same insertedinto the lower end of a table-leg, a portion and 5 showing a surroundingshoulder or vcollar Fig. 7, a detached plan of the ball-retaining therace ferrule, showing cuts through one side thereof; Fig. 8,a sectionalelevation of the ferrule, taken on the line zu w in Fig. 7, with theupper end of the strip between the cuts slightly outwardly turned; andFig. 9 an in verted detached plan of the socket member.

In the drawings, A designates a tubular bod y having a portion a, ofapproved dimensions,with one end closed, and having Within, at thecenter thereof, a conical recess a', with the other end open, andpreferably provided with a diametrically-extended portion a2, also ofapproved dimensions,forming between the two an abrupt shoulder' oroffset a3 (but this offset may be varied or omitted when the conditionsrequireland having at its open end or mouth an outwardly-projectingring-flange a4, which is'shown to be flat or level, with oriiices a5through thelbody thereof; but these may be omitted and the iiange mayhave any other shape or form as the conditions may require, and itsupper surface may be provided with upwardly-projecting teats or points,as by prick-punching. The hollow or interior Yof this tubular bodyconstitutes the tubular socket referred to in the opening paragraphhereto, while said body may be made of molten metal and cast in amatrix; but it is preferably punched and drawn from selected Sheetmetal, and its dimensions and shape will vary according tothe'construction thereof and the nature of the article to which thecasteris applied for use. VVithiu the socket, axially rotatable therein,is arranged a stem or shaft B of the required dimensions, said shaf thaving one end thereof made conical with its apex or point b, of whichonly the .extreme end is seated in said recess a', reducing friction toa minimum at this point, and having adjacent to its other end asurrounding flange or IOO collar b', leaving a projecting end or studb2, while the body of the shaft, at a prescribed point above the collar,has formed therein a shallow groove b3, of prescribed width,constituting a ball-race about said body. Arranged about the groove b3of the shaft and firmly seated by close frctional contact in4 each. Insaid race are loosely seated a ringy or series of balls C', constitutingan autifriction-bearing between the two-said shaft and ferrule. Theferrule through its upper edge is longitudinally provided withinwardly-approaching cuts c', forming a resilient strip or tongue c2 inone side thereof, shown as being slightly outwardly turned or sprung inFig. 8, allowing the balls to be readily inserted into or removed fromthe race or open passage-way before mentioned when the ferrule has beenapplied to the shaft before its insertion into the socket and by reasonof the resiliency thereof said tongue again snapping back into placeafter said balls are seated, and by reason of the firm seating of theferrule int-o the open cud or the portion a2 of the socketed member saidseries of balls serve to hold the spindle or caster shaft centrally inplace, preventing all liability of its contacting with the inner surfaceor Wall 'of the socket, as woll as its dropping or fallving therefrom,when the article having had the socket-ed member inserted is raised orlifted.

It will here be remarked that the bifurcated jaw or the two-eared yokeD, mentioned in Athe opening paragraph hereto, having a plate d, withits side arms or ears d d', and a roller or pulley D' pivotedtherebetween by an endriveted axle-pin cl2, as well as the stud b2,passing through an aperture da of said plate and riveted thereon, asshown, rigidly securing the two together, are all old and well known tothe trade and they are only introduced here as elements necessary tocomplete the construction of the caster.

Now the several parts having been described and occupying the respectivepositions indicated in the drawings, the following -observations will benoted: first, that when the caster is applied to use the weight of thearticle into which its socketed member has Vbeen inserted is supportedentirely on the spindle end, which is seated in the recess of the closedend of said member; second, that this spindle end being conicallypointed and the recess into which this pointed end is seated beingproportionately shallow the friction at this point of support is reducedto a minimum; third, that by reason of a series of balls surrounding thespindle near the lower end thereof friction isreduced to a minimumceases at this point 5 fourth, that said balls being partially seat-edin the groove around the spindle and in the interior baltrace adjacentto the lower end of the surrounding ferrule said' spindle is heldcentrally and upwardly in place, and, fifth, that said ferrule beingfirmly seated in thelower or open end of the socketed member the spindleis kept centrally in place and prevented from having any lateral contactwith the socket-surface of said member.

The invention having been thus ascertained and described and the mannerin which it is performed fully shown and set forth, what is considerednew, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, isfl. A castercomprising: a socketed member, having an upper closed end, and a loweropen end, with a shallow conical recess arranged within and at thecenter of said closed end, said member adapted to be inserted into thebase or foot of an article of household or other furniture; a revolublcshaft arranged within the socket of said member, said shaft having acone-pointed upper end seated in said conical recess, and ashoulder orcollar adjacent to the lower end thereof, with a projecting end belowthe collar, and a ball-race above the collar and recessed into the bodyof the shaft', a ferrule surrounding the shaft and firmly seated in theopen end of said socketed mem ber, said ferrule having an interiorball-race adjacent to the lower end thereof and registering with thelower edge of the ball-race of the shaft, with a series or ring of ballspar; tially seated in each race; and a two-eared yoke with the top platethereof rigidly se; cured to the projecting end of the shaft, and aroller pivoted between the ears of said yoke; all substantially asdescribed and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

2. In a caster of the character described, the combination with asocketed member, A, having the portion, ct, with the closed upperend'and the conical recess, a', within and at the center thereof,- audthe widened portion, a?, integral with its open end, with the shoulder,a3, between the portions, and the sur# rounding ring-flange, a4,projecting from the open end of said widened portion; and a revolubleshaft, B, having the upper conical end with the apex, b, seated in saidrecess, a', and the surrounding shoulder or collar, b', adjacent to thelower end, with the projecting end or lug, b2, below and the recessedgroove, b3, above said collar; of aferrule, C, surrounding said shaftand seated in said widened portion, a2, said ferrule having the insidelower end ball-race, c, and the upper end inwardly approachinglongitudinalcuts, c',with the upwardly-extending resilient tongue, c?,between said cuts, and a series of balls seated in said ball-race, c,and in said groove, b2; all substantially as and for the purposehereinbefore set forth.

3. The combination in a caster of the chari acter described,with atubular-socketed mem- IOO of upper end inwardly-approaching cuts, c',with a resilient tongue, c2, between said cuts, of a ring of balls, C',partially seated in the race, c, of the furrule and partially in thegroove, b3, of the shaft, all substantially as and for the purposehereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ABRAHAM H. SHOCK.

Witnesses:

FRED. P. MENTZER, CHAS. E. LONG.

